Update: January 8 (Game Results) With the Cat’s 87-71 win over DePaul, we congratulate four VUHoops readers who took medals in this round. Gold Medal: barry class of 57 (84-68), earning 5.0 points; Silver Medals: Robertrise (79-73) and Steve V (79-69) earning 3.0 points each; Bronze Medal: bhank (76-71), earning 1.0 point. Our updated leader board is provided below.
VUHoops vs. Vegas: Based on the average predicted scores of the VUHoops Crowd and the posted Vegas line, we would have had a DOUBLE-LOSS by betting DePaul +7.5 (LOSS) and the Under (LOSS). The details follow. With the double-loss, we fall to -$200 for the season.
VU Hoops | Vegas | Bet | Actual | Result | |
Spread | ‘Nova +1.0 | ‘Nova -7.5 | DePaul+7.5 | ‘Nova by 16 | LOSS |
Over | 143 | 153.0 | Under | 156 | LOSS |
Leader Board
Reader | Points |
Scott0220 | 10.0 |
schitzengigles10 | 7.5 |
Clarkkell | 6.5 |
barry class of 57 | 5.0 |
FruitLoops | 5.0 |
Kait'08 | 5.0 |
TK87 | 5.0 |
Dom | 4.5 |
Stevie V | 3.5 |
FLM'33 | 3.0 |
Pretty Toney | 3.0 |
Robertrise | 3.0 |
Beardog | 2.5 |
Bstep011 | 2.5 |
chuck st.petersburg | 2.5 |
Nervous Nelly | 2.5 |
novasmu | 2.5 |
Steph | 2.5 |
JDW71 | 1.5 |
Johnnyb1 | 1.5 |
NovaCat94 | 1.5 |
Old School | 1.5 |
Rick19 | 1.5 |
stats | 1.5 |
TimW | 1.5 |
bhank | 1.0 |
Jim89 | 1.0 |
Jimmy | 1.0 |
StatsManOne | 1.0 |
Top Gere | 1.0 |
Jimdribble | 0.5 |
jtc123 | 0.5 |
Update: January 8 (Game Time) A total of 40 VUHoops readers have posted predictions, with 17 (43%) picking the Blue Demons to win. As a group, the readers see 'Nova losing in a close one, 71-72 (a margin of -1.0 points and implied over/under of 143). The Vegas odds makers pick 'Nova to win by 7.5 and set the over/under at 153.0 points, implying a final score of 80-73.
Scatter Plot of Predicted Scores
Window Opening: Friday, January 6, 7:30 PM The window is now open for our readers to post their predicted final scores for Sunday’s game against DePaul at the Pavilion (Noon, WPHL17) in the eighth round of our Closest to the Pin Contest. Scott0220 stands alone in first place; click here to see our full leader board.
Villanova (7-8, 0-3) is unranked in the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls but is ranked #82 by Kenpom.com. The Cats have an RPI of 114, a SOS of 26, and score an average of 71.8 PPG while giving up an average of 68.7.
DePaul (10-4, 1-1) is unranked in the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls but is ranked #148 by Kenpom.com. The Blue Demons have an RPI of 157, a SOS of 274, and are scoring an average of 77.6 PPG while giving up an average of 72.3 PPG. The table below sets out their wins and losses so far this season.
OPPONENT | RPI | AP | H/A | DEPAUL | OPPONENT |
Wins: | |||||
Texas Pan-American | 304 | - | Home | 91 | 72 |
Mississippi Valley State | 155 | - | Home | 80 | 70 |
Texas Tech | 215 | - | Home | 76 | 70 |
Arizona State | 171 | - | Away | 68 | 64 |
Loyola Chicago | 273 | - | Away | 69 | 58 |
Chicago State | 306 | - | Home | 102 | 95 |
Northern Illinois | 337 | - | Away | 75 | 52 |
Arkansas Pine Bluff | 293 | - | Home | 81 | 62 |
Cal Polytech | 150 | - | Home | 63 | 58 |
Pitt | 83 | - | Home | 84 | 81 |
Losses: | |||||
Minnesota | 37 | - | Home | 85 | 86 |
Ole Miss | 46 | - | Home | 68 | 70 |
Wisconsin Milwaukee | 95 | - | Home | 76 | 87 |
Syracuse | 1 | 1 | Home | 68 | 87 |
Be sure to read our game preview tomorrow. We’ll add the Las Vegas spread / over-under when it’s posted. Good luck!
Special Note: When posting predictions, be sure to:
- Use a consistent handle / ID so that we can keep an accurate running leader board over the course of the season. Obviously, score predictions posted by anonymous readers cannot be accepted.
- List your predicted score for Villanova first, followed by the score for the opponent (e.g., Cats 100, DePaul 75)